THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
67 
Butter. — Diificuity iu Churniug. 
Mr. Cabinet — Please to ask yonr folks, in- 
stead of writing so many thing.? which we know 
already— and some we don’t want to know — to 
turn their atiention to the department of female 
husbandry^ and instruct us a little in that. 
In the days ot our grand-dames— as many a 
legend tells us — when witches were almost as 
numerous as cats, and quite as mischievous, 
riding broomsticks on their errands of mischief, 
the good housewife frequently encountered the 
greatest difficulty from their malicious interler- 
ence with her household affairs; unless her 
stable door and “ that dear cot her home,” were 
protected by the potent charm ol an old horse- 
shoe, the horses’ manes andtails would be twist- 
ed into the cows would either be sucked 
dry, or their milk turned to blood, or when churn- 
ed would not make butter; her vinegar would 
not stay in the barrel, nor her soap in the tub, 
nor could she even supply its loss, unless she 
Used the precaution to stir the soap pot with a 
sassafras stick, top down. In those perilous 
times, stern necessity devised many means to 
break the spell, to burn the witch, or to douse 
her into scalding water. But to us who are 
young, this is mere matter of history — fabulous 
history it would seem— lor no sooner did the 
people cease their efforts to keep the loilckes out, 
than they made the discovery that there were 
none {o gel in. Oh, pshaw! 1 sat down to inquire 
about churning, and here is a homily on witch- 
craft. 
It is a fact unfortunately too well known, that 
in small dairies of one or two cows, perhaps 
cows which have been milked for several 
months, there is often much difficulty expe- 
rienced in churning the cream into butter, es- 
pecially in cold weather — sometimes the cream 
is converted into a thick froth, and will not 
break; at othertimes. the butter forms into small 
pellets resembling fish eggs, and will not gather. 
Notv it is no trifle to have ail the trouble and 
labor of gathering the cream, and churning a 
whole day, perhaps two or three ot them, and 
have to eat your buckwheat cakes without but- 
ter at last. Formerly it was only necessary to 
expel the witch, and all was right; but now-a- 
days, there is no witch, and we don’t know what 
to do. 
One thinks her cow is too poor to churn for 
and exchanges her for one no better. Another 
can’t gel butter because her cows are fed on tur- 
nips or pumpkins. A third condems oats’ straw 
as feed for cows, and who would not agree with 
her in that; and some think that even the oats 
themselves, ground either alone, or with corn, 
make inferior butter or none at all. 
Now, all this may or may not he so. We 
think there is some difference in cows, and in 
cow-feed too; for we see a great difference be- 
tween the milk of different cows, and of the 
same cows under different keeping. Still, as 
the complaint seems only to prevail in winter, 
we think that winter may have something to do 
with it, especially as our own cream will churn 
readily one week, and hardly at all another, 
cows and food the same. 
Now, what do your Cabinet folks say to this 7 
you often talk about chemistry. Nowcan’tyou 
tell us what is the chemical process of convert- 
ing cream into butter, what constitutes the dif- 
ference between the two; and w^iat are the es- 
sential conditions necessary to effect the change 7 
Do tell us where the crearn-pot should be kept 
in cold weather7 How it should be stirred and 
managed 7 What put into it 7 How the churn 
should be prepared, &c. &c. 
Do tell us all about it, and oblige a whole 
heap of Young Wives. 
[It would afford the editor no small gratifica- 
tion. if he were able to remove a difficulty, 
which has from time immemorial, for aught we 
know, perplexed and annoyed, not only “ heaps 
of Young Wives,” but also any quantity of old 
ones, who had thought that in most matters they 
had cut their wisdom teeth. We must, how- 
ever, leave this to wiser people, and hope so-me 
of our readers will be able to render assistance 
in the premises. There is an excellent article 
under the head of Batter, in the Farmer’s En- 
cyclopedia, which is too long for the Cabinet, 
and to which we can only refer. We can very 
sympathise with those who are worried in 
this way, hav ing many a time watched with no 
little chagrin, the prolonged and fruitless labors 
at the churn, lor six or eight, or even twelve 
hours; and then, after all, il I'ne buckwheat calces 
were not eaten drxj, they might as well have been, 
for the stuff’ that was produced when the butter 
did come, il indeed it came at all, was not wor- 
by which it was said butter could be made in 
winter as sweet, and with as little churning, as 
in summer. So 1 .set about trying the experi- 
ment, and the result exceeded my expectations. 
INly new practice is as follows; 
Before I go out to milk, I put a kettle, say 
one-third full ol water, and large enough to let 
the milk pail into it, on to the stove, where it 
will get boiling hot by the time 1 have come in 
with the milk. I then strain the milk into an- 
other vessel, and wash the pail, (which should 
always be of tin.) then pour the milk back into 
the pail, and set into the kettle of boiling water 
thy of the name of butter, and hardly that of ^ till the milk becomes scalding hot, taking care 
decent grcflse. Perhaps there is no better plan 
lor having butter in winter, and little difficulty 
in the churning of it, than to feed the cows well 
with Indian meal and green food, as carrots, tur- 
nips, potatoes, &c., and to keep the milk or cream 
at a moderate temperature. A friend in Jersey, 
and by the way, an excellent house-keeper, re- 
not to let it boil, then pour it into crocks or pans 
and set it away in the cellar for the cream to 
rise in the usual way. As little time should be 
occupied in this heating process as possible; 
hence the advantage of having the water ready 
hot when the milk is brought in. 
Cream procured in this way, will seldom re- 
marked to us a few weeks ago, that she kept her i quire more than twenty minutes churning, while 
milk and cream, during the winter, altogether 
in a closet in the kitchen; thus, at a constant 
temperature, from 55° to 65°, it readily soured, 
and she had no difficulty in getting her butter; 
and the quality of it, when she doesg-e^ it, our- 
selves are particularly fond of testing. This 
plan of keeping the milk warm, is, we believe, 
practised to a very considerable extent, by our 
large and nice dairy people on this side the Del- 
aware. — Ed. Far, CoMnet.'\ 
[The following is from the Ohio Cultivator, 
recently established by Mr. Bateham, formerly 
proprietor of the Genesee Farmer. He seems 
to be mightily tickled with having got two lady 
contributors to his columns, and well he may 
be, since few of his brother editors are so fortu- 
nate as to get one. He prefaces “ Emily’s” con- 
tribution with the following remarks, the spzrii 
of which is imputable tJ the fact that the writer 
IS (fortunately or unfortunately 7) n single man, 
though doubly blessed with female correspon- 
dents. — N. E. Farmer.^ 
'‘The Campbells are Coming F — Stand aside, 
gentlemen! front seats always reserved for the 
ladies ! We felt quite sure that we should have 
the assistance of the ladies in our enterprise, 
and, sure enough, here it comes! ’Tis true, 
they are naturally a little coy at first, and need 
some coaxing; but when they do become enlist- 
ed in a good cause, it is sure to go ahead. We 
have, therefore, no longer any fears about the 
success of our undertaking. The Ohio Culti- 
vator will not only be sustained, but eminently 
by the common practice, the poor dairy-maid 
may have to churn for hours, and then, perhaps, 
have to throw it away, as I did myself on two 
occasions, before I happened to gain this valua- 
ble piece of information. 
Respectfully, &c. Emily. 
P. S. — (A lady a! ways adds a postscript.) I 
forgot to say, that if you get a “ Buckeye” wife, 
and she makes butter for you in winter accord- 
ing to this method, you will find it but little in- 
ferior to that made in summer. E. 
Kindness to Animals* 
The following, which we copy from the Mas- 
sachusetts Ploughman, we commend to the spe- 
cial reading of eveiy one who has charge of 
beasts of burthen. The example of the owner 
of the runaway oxen alluded to, cannot be too 
generally followed. If kindness, instead of the 
brutal treatment usually meted out to dumb 
beasts by their drivers, were resorted to, we 
have no doubt that many of the faults and tricks 
to which they are subjected might be overcome. 
Mr. Editor — In passing through the town of 
S , a lew days since, I stopped at the resi- 
dence of a distinguished farmer of that town; 
it so happened during my short stay, his steers 
which he was working at the time, by some 
means, escaped him and runaway. After much 
running and trouble, they were overtaken and 
brought back, w'hich done, the good man very 
deliberately and good naturedly stepped into his 
corn barn and brought out several clever ears 
. , of corn and gave them to eat; at the same time 
successful in accomplishing the great object for ! parting them on the sides, saying, “ There Bxick 
vrhich it is designed. j Bright, take that&nA that, and know better 
We have received two communications from , than to run away from me again.” The steers 
female contributors, both of them of a plain, i seemed to forget their skitlishness at once, and 
practical character, aiming at utility ratherthan ; became tame and familiar. They indicated as 
amusement. The first is from a farmer’s daugh- j ixiuch as to say, “ Master, we were afraid, where- 
ter, and^we think vyiU be useful to many of her | we ran away ; but now, we believe thee 
to be our friend, and shall no more fly from thee.” 
There, thought I, is a lesson ol moderation 
sex at the present time; 
BUCKEYE MODE OF MAKING BUTTER. 
Mr. Editor — Having read in the second 
number of your truly valuable paper, that no 
one had contributed for the department which 
and kindheartedness worthy the regard of all 
those who have the care and management of 
dumb beasts. And it is here noted for the spe- 
you are so kind as to appropriate to the it se of ! cial consideration and behoof of all such as are 
ladies, I feel inclined to pnt in my mite, small 
as it is, in the hope that it will encourage others 
ot my sex, for I think it is a pity that they should 
neglect so good an opportunity for exercising 
their talents, and “showing their quality.” 
My object in writing is, to inform your rea- 
ders that I have derived much assistance in the 
performance of my duties as a farmer’s daugh- 
ter, from reading agricultural papers. vly 
father has taken the Genesee Farmer for several 
years, and I have found much instruction in its 
columps that has been of advantage to me ; one 
instance of this kind 1 will relate. 
I have for several years had the entire care of 
the milk department in my father’s family. I 
therefore read, with great interest, whatever re- 
lated to making burter and cheese, and I found 
much that was different from what I had been 
in ihe habit of practicing. One case of this kind 
was, directions for making butter in winter, ac- 
cording to what is called the Russian method, 
in the constant habit of maltreating their do- 
mestic animals. What a contrast this to the 
manner of some, who, instead of forbearance 
and kind dealing, upon every occasion of way- 
wardness in their horse or ox, fly at him, cudgel 
in hand, and deal “death and damnation on his 
defen'i'eless head like a very Turk!” How 
many noble animals have had their courage 
broken down and rendered spiritless by such 
brutal treatment— it is worse than bruto.l, for no 
brute animal will treat his fellow so unnatural- 
Iv 1 How many colts and steers have been thus 
spoiled in training to service 1 “The merciful 
man is merciful to his beast!” 
Nor are others less culpable who leave their 
cattle exposed to the inclemency of winter 
weather, without shelter, and a sufficient and 
proper supply of food. Man, take care of thy 
beast and be kind to him, else his voice may be 
heard in heaven testifying against thee ! 
Respectfully, B. F. Wilbur. 
